'Drastic' advice for Latinos

Shun Spanish-language media, the governor says, and immigrants will learn English more quickly

By Kevin Yamamura - Bee Capitol Bureau

Last Updated 7:13 am PDT Thursday, June 14, 2007


SAN JOSE -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told hundreds of Latino journalists Wednesday that immigrants who want to learn English more quickly should shun various forms of Spanish-language media.

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set," Schwarzenegger said at the 25th annual National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention, which included many who produce Spanish-language material.

"It's that simple. You've got to learn English," he said. "I know this sounds odd and this is the politically incorrect thing to say and I'm going to get myself in trouble. But I know that when I came to this country, I very rarely spoke German to anyone."

The Republican governor, an Austrian immigrant, was responding to a question about how to improve Latino academic performance.

Schwarzenegger said tutoring and after-school programs are essential. But he emphasized that immigrants should avoid a diet of Spanish-language books, TV and newspapers in order to learn English, calling it a "drastic" but necessary step.

Schwarzenegger last year angered some Latino leaders by observing that Mexican immigrants have problems succeeding in the United States because "they try to stay Mexican." He hammered at the same point Wednesday in San Jose, saying that immigrants from Germany or France have an easier time learning English because they do not have many outlets to speak their native tongues.

"You're just forced to speak English, and that just makes you learn the language faster," Schwarzenegger said. "It is much more difficult and much more challenging when you are ... let's say, Latino. Because you have so many Latinos, as I see at the Capitol in Sacramento, there are so many Latinos who speak Spanish all the time, they speak to each other in Spanish. So it makes it difficult to perfect their English skills as quickly as possible."

"They're busy working," remarked panelist Pilar Marrero, political editor of Spanish-language newspaper La Opinión. "They don't have time to."

Marrero seemed to grow visibly tense as Schwarzenegger made his case against Spanish-language media, and the governor apologized at one point after he said not to read Spanish-language newspapers.

She agreed later that Latin American immigrants have a different experience than European newcomers. But she said those coming from Spanish-speaking countries do make an effort to learn English and that there are plenty of bilingual immigrant households.

"Spanish media is there to do what the English media doesn't do, which is to serve the immigrants," Marrero said afterward. "As he said, it's a political hot potato. I think he believes it, he thinks about his own experience. It's different when you come from Austria than when you come from Latin America."

During his 45-minute appearance, Schwarzenegger had a wide-ranging discussion moderated by Bee Executive Editor Rick Rodriguez. The governor was generally received warmly by more than 300 journalists at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose and drew his biggest applause when promoting bipartisan themes.

The governor said he does not support the immigration bill that has stalled in Congress despite his repeated calls for an overhaul. He said the current bill lacks specifics on enforcement, financing and regulations for new immigrant arrivals, though he believes lawmakers are close to an agreement.

About the writer:
The Bee's Kevin Yamamura can be reached at (916) 326-5548 or kyamamura@sacbee.com.



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